Individual Report: H6263 William MAYNE

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Private	William	Murray
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Pilot Mound MB	Manitoba	1916-09-14
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	HQ Coy

Transportation - Home Base to Hong Kong

Members of 'C' Force from the East travelled across Canada by CNR troop train, picking up reinforcements enroute. Stops included Valcartier, Montreal, Ottawa, Armstrong ON, Capreol ON, Winnipeg, Melville SK, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Vancouver, arriving in Vancouver on Oct 27 at 0800 hrs.

The Winnipeg Grenadiers and the local soldiers that were with Brigade Headquarters from Winnipeg to BC travelled on a CPR train to Vancouver.

All members embarked from Vancouver on the ships AWATEA and PRINCE ROBERT. AWATEA was a New Zealand Liner and the PRINCE ROBERT was a converted cruiser. "C" Company of the Rifles was assigned to the PRINCE ROBERT, everyone else boarded the AWATEA. The ships sailed from Vancouver on Oct 27th and arrived in Hong Kong on November 16th, having made brief stops enroute at Honolulu and Manila.

Equipment earmarked for 'C' Force use was loaded on the ship DON JOSE, but would never reach Hong Kong as it was rerouted to Manila when hostilities commenced.

On arrival, all troops were quartered at Nanking Barracks, Sham Shui Po Camp, in Kowloon.

Battle Information

We do not have specific battle information for this soldier in our online database. For a detailed description of the battle from a Canadian perspective, visit Canadian Participation in the Defense of Hong Kong (published by the Historical Section, Canadian Military Headquarters).

Wounded Information

No wounds recorded.

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-BMH	08/31/1942	N/A		118

POW Camps

Camp ID	Camp Name	Location	Arrival Date	Departure Date
HK-NP-01	North Point	North Point, Hong Kong Island	41 Dec 20	41 Dec 22
HK-SA-01	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	Capture	42 Jan 22
HK-NP-02	North Point	North Point, Hong Kong Island	42 Jan 22	42 Sep 26
HK-SA-02	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	42 Sep 26	45 Sep 10

Transportation SE Asia to Home

Transport Mode	Arrival Destination	Arrival Date	Comments
USS Admiral CF Hughes	Victoria, BC	1945-10-09	Manila to Victoria BC

No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.

Post-war Photo

Other Military or Public Service

He served six years as president of the Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded and was executive secretary. In 1975-76, he was chairman of the National Council of Veterans Associations in Canada. He received the Coronation Jubilee Medal and the Order of Canada.

Death and Cemetery Information

Date of Death (y-m-d)	Cause of Death	Death Class
2011-12-29		Post War
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Belleville Ontario Canada	Belleville Cemetery	Plot J

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

William "Bill" Mayne September 14th, 1916 - December 29th, 2011 William Mayne (Bill) C.M. passed away peacefully while surrounded by his family and friends at the North York General Hospital in Toronto, on Thursday December 29th, 2011, at the age of 95. Predeceased by his parents Orwood and Laura Mayne and sisters Eva, Luella, Margaret, and Mary. Beloved husband of the late Cecelia (Bicky) for 40 yrars. Bill will be fondly remembered by his children Laura Mayne, and Woody Mayne and his wife Deborah. Loving grandad of Tricia, and Tonia, and great granddad of Natey, and Brody. Bill is survived by his sister Laura Glenn. The family will receive friends at the JOHN R. BUSH FUNERAL HOME 80 Highland Ave., Belleville (613-968-5588) on Saturday January 7th, 2012 from 10:00 till 11am. A Celebration of Bill's life will be held in the chapel immediately following the visitation at 11a.m. Inurnment will be at Belleville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Sir Arthur F.J.L. Woodcock / Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded Scholarship Foundation would be appreciated by the family. On-line condolences at www.rushnellfamilyservices.com

Links and Other Resources

There may be more information on this individual available elsewhere on our web sites - please use the search tool found in the upper right corner of this page to view sources.

General Comments

MAYNE, William "Bill” was born in Pilot Mound, Manitoba. He joined the Canadian Army and served with the Winnipeg Grenadiers in Hong Kong during WWII. After the fall of Hong Kong on December 25, 1941, Bill was a POW until the end of the war in 1945. When he returned to Canada, he was declared legally blind but with the help of the CNIB, he attended the University of Manitoba, obtaining a BA with majors in economics and finance. He returned to the CNIB and worked in various positions, finally becoming director of CNIB War Blinded in 1970. In 1975, he turned his attentions to the War Blinded Veterans Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Bill served six years as president of the Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded and was executive secretary. In 1975-76, he was chairman of the National Council of Veterans Associations in Canada. Bill was finally given the Coronation Jubilee Medal and the Order of Canada. Bill has been a member of Pilot Mound Legion Branch for over 30 years.
Unidentified newspaper clipping

STRANGE MEETING
PICTON, Ont., Nor. 9. Two cousins who had never met were united in a prison camp at Hong Kong, relatives here were informed.
They are William Mayne of Pilot Mound. Man, of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and Harold Mayne of Point Anne, Ont., a member of the Royal Rifles.
Unidentified newspaper clipping November 9, 1942

'C' Force Family Connections:

Cousin of C5965 Harold Maynes

End of Report.

Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.

Back to 'C' Force Home Page

Additional Notes

(These will not be visible on the printed copy)

Service numbers for officers ("X") are locally generated for reporting only. During World War II officers were not allocated service numbers until 1945.
'C' Force soldiers who died overseas are memorialized in the Books of Remembrance and the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, both sponsored by Veterans Affairs Canada. Please use the search utility at VAC to assist you.
Some birthdates and deathdates display as follows: 1918-00-00. In general, this indicates that we know the year but not the month or day.
Our POW camp links along with our References link (near the bottom of the 'C' Force home page) are designed to give you a starting point for your research. There were many camps with many name changes. The best resource for all POW camps in Japan is the Roger Mansell Center for Research site.
In most cases the rank displayed was the rank held before hostilities. Some veterans were promoted at some point prior to eventual post-war release from the army back in Canada. When notified of these changes we'll update the individual's record.
Images displayed on the web page are small, but in many cases the actual image is larger. Hover over any image and you will see a popup if a larger version is available. You can also right-click on some images and select the option to view the image separately. Not all images have larger versions. Contact us to confirm whether a large copy of an image in which you are interested exists.
In some cases the References displayed as part of this report generate questions because there is no indication of their meaning. They were inherited with the original database, and currently we do not know what the source is. We hope to solve this problem in future.
We have done our best to avoid errors and omissions, but if you find any issues with this report, either in accuracy, completeness or layout, please contact us using the link at the top of this page.
Photos are welcome! If a photo exists for a 'C' Force member that we have not included, or if you have a higher quality copy, please let us know by using the Contact Us link at the top of this page. We will then reply, providing instructions on submitting it.